ENG-2010 — Page 70

28 Constitution and Administration

Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited, Hospital Authority, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, Legislative Council Secretariat, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Securities and Futures Commission, Urban Renewal Authority, Vocational Training Council and West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.

Besides investigating complaints, The Ombudsman may initiate direct investigations of his own volition into matters of public interest and widespread concern, and publish the reports. This proactive and preventive approach aims at addressing problems affecting a broad spectrum of the community. The direct investigations are particularly useful in redressing administrative flaws of a systemic nature and addressing fundamental problems or underlying causes for complaint.

Since 1994, when The Ombudsman was empowered to undertake direct investigations, 76 such investigations have been completed seven of them in the reporting year 2009-10. These seven investigations concerned:

• The system for developing question papers in public examinations;

• Procedures for processing chained-transactions involving transfer/retention of vehicle registration marks;

• The Housing Department's handling of complaints involving claims;

• The regulatory system of lifts;

• Granting of disability allowance and processing of appeals by the Social Welfare Department;

• Checking the eligibility of subsidised public hospital and health services; and

• The effectiveness of the administration of Code on Access to Information.

The reports of all direct investigations have been published and are available for public scrutiny at the office's Resource Centre.

The Ombudsman Ordinance also empowers The Ombudsman to investigate complaints of non-compliance with the Code on Access to Information against government departments, including the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The Ombudsman is also empowered to act as an independent review body in respect of an alleged breach of the code.

The office received 13 789 enquiries and 4 803 complaints in the reporting year 2009-10, compared with 14 005 enquiries and 5 386 complaints in the reporting. year 2008-09. The areas attracting a substantial number of complaints were related to error, wrong advice or decision, failure to follow procedures or delay, negligence or omission, disparity in treatment, lack of response to complaints, staff attitude and ineffective control.

Although The Ombudsman has no authority to enforce his recommendations, 96.1 per cent of the recommendations made have been accepted by the organisations concerned.